'˜It's got to stop'

Fly tippers have struck yet again close to a cherished nature reserve in Fleetwood.

After a string of incidents over the past 18 months, the dumpers left three piles of unsightly rubbish on Friday night and then over the weekend.

Angry residents say they have had enough of the regular tide of mess left by the tippers.

People who use the Fleetwood Marsh nature reserve were confronted with the fresh load of fly-tipping on Jameson Road, not far from the entrance of the reserve.

Residents yet again say something should be done to try and tackle the issue, with the installation of CCTV suggested as a possible solution to help catch culprits and act as a deterrent.

The latest piles of rubbish including various bin bags of rubbish and quantities of plastic strips left strewn around.

Those found guilty of such offending can be hit with a hefty fine of £400, and if the waste is deemed hazardous the money demanded can be much higher and the penalty even include imprisonment.

Fleetwood Town Council member Coun Rita Hewitt says she has yet again been contacted by residents who use the nature reserve and are fed up with the fly-tippers.

Coun Hewitt, who represents Mount ward, said: “It is very frustrating to see there has been no progress with what is a repeat problem.

“This kind of thing shows Fleetwood in a bad light when people come here to visit the reserve.”

Coun Hewitt met up with Wyre Council officials last year in a bid to find practical answers to the problem.

But she says that since that promising meeting, the officers have still not followed through on the next stage of developments and she feels as though nothing will be done.

A number of parties own land surrounding the road - Lancashire County Council, Wyre Council, James Parr and United Utilities.

Coun Hewitt says she tried to bring them together to discuss ways of funding the cameras.

She said: “The best solution would be to install CCTV cameras at either end of the road, catch these people and hit them with a big fine.

“There are various parties with responsibilities over Jameson Road.

“I was trying to get them to meet up, with the help of these officers, and discuss the possibility of them sharing the costs of CCTV.

“But it all came to nothing.

“If fly-tipping carries such high penalties, why is nothing being done to try and stop it or catch those responsible.”

Wyre says it is looking into the issue seriously.

A Wyre spokeswoman said: “This road is unique in that much is not adopted and the responsibility of a number of different stakeholders.

“For a period of time we did have some hidden mobile cameras in situ, but did not catch any activity, neither did cameras from Suez Recycling or United Utilities.

“We are seeking to speak again with the other stakeholders to look at alternative prevention measures.

“We are working with agencies to clean up sections and mitigate the issue with fly tipping.”